For God Is In Charge

I believe he's coming soon. Oh, hallelujah. Let's

give him another round of applause before we

see to this morning. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah.

Praise God. You may be seated. What a marvelous,

wonderful time of worship we've already had today.

How wonderful it is to be in God's presence.

I had rather be in the presence of God than any

other place on this earth. And to feel his goodness

and his richness and his tenderness, he called

me out of darkness into his marvelous light.

And I've been redeemed by his saving grace. Oh,

listen, we forget what a tremendous honor it

was when God saved us. And I just feel his presence

today. I'm so blessed today to be with you at

Hopewell. What a wonderful church, a beautiful

church. And it's made more beautiful by the beautiful

people that are in it. And it's so good for Judy

and I to be here today. I want to say that I

have the deepest love and appreciation for the

great shepherd and pastor of this church. He's

one of God's finest. One of God's very finest.

And he's such a dear friend. And I'm honored

by this invitation to preach the gospel. And

it's so good also to be with the one and only

sister I have in the world who attends this church.

And Becky, I love you. And I thank God for you.

And for the man that you married, my brother

-in -law, he's more like a brother. And it's

so good to be with Ron and Becky today and to

have my wife Judy here, my better half, maybe

better three quarters. And I'm so glad she's

with me today. I really sought the Lord when

I was invited to preach today. I mean that with

all my heart. I didn't want to just find some

sermon in an old sermon book of mine and try

to resurrect it. I got on my knees and I began

to ask God, God, speak to my heart. God's got

this habit of waking me up and speaking to me.

I wish God would wait until about 10 in the morning.

But God likes to talk at 4 and 4 .30. And the

Bible said, he that watches Israel neither slumbers

nor sleeps. Now, I believe that. Because he wakes

me up and talks to me. And that's all right.

He's God. I'm not. So if he wants to speak to

me early, I'm glad he's just still speaking to

me. And I want to share with you in the word

of the Lord today what God has to speak to me.

I'm going to do something most unusual. I'm going

to use a sermon illustration here in just a little

bit. But before I do, I'm preaching for the first

time ever in my life. Out of my mama's old Bible.

If you open this Bible up, it says it was printed

in 1944. My mama's daddy, who was a preacher

farmer, the reason he was a preacher farmer is

because he preached because God called him and

he farmed because God gave him 14 children to

feed. And money was... Not something easy to

come by in those days. And grandpa got enough

pennies together, money together to buy my mama

this Bible when she graduated from high school

in 1944. And he gave it to her and mama kept

it all these years. And my mama was a Bible reader.

And when she found a verse that she liked, she

took a red pen and put a little red star beside

it. I stand before you with a Bible full of red

stars. And I have to be careful about preaching

to Mama's Bible because I've never took anything

out of it. Mama's got five bookmarks in this

Bible. She's got a picture of Daddy in this Bible.

She's got a love letter. that daddy wrote her

on their 63rd wedding anniversary. If you're

still writing love letters after 63 years, brother,

you got the real thing. And it's just a wonderful

Bible, and I wanted to preach out of it because

I wanted it to be part of the sermon illustration

I'm going to share with you in just a few moments.

From God's eternal word. I'm going to do something

they used to do in early America. In early America,

often when the minister would read his text,

he would always read the entire chapter he was

going to preach out of. I would have hated to

have been there when the man preached out of

the 119th Psalm. But they would read the whole

chapter and sometimes two or three chapters,

and I'm going to read today the fifth chapter

of the book of the prophet Daniel because this

is the story that God's laid upon my heart to

preach about that America needs to hear. When

I... I retired back in 2022. Now, somebody said,

you retired, Brother Griffiths? Well, retire

means you just get a new set of tires. And when

I retired, the Lord began to change my ministry

and the directory of my ministry. He wanted me

to become more of a writer, and I began to write

more. I'd written three books back in the 90s,

but the Lord began to have me to write. on social

media and then the Lord began to speak to me

in the prophetic and I didn't ask to speak because

people get mad at you when you speak prophetically

and I'm like everybody else I don't like folks

mad at me but I've decided that I had rather

obey God than to obey men And one of the problems

in America today is that we don't have enough

people obeying God. And I want to obey God. And

so I'm going to read this fifth chapter of Daniel,

and we're going to get into the message. And

because my hair is white and my beard is white,

I'm putting these babies on to read. Daniel chapter

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

5, the story of King Belshazzar. The only place

in the Bible that he's written about. Daniel

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5. Belshazzar the king made a great feast

to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before

the thousand. Belshazzar. Whilst he tasted the

wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver

vessels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had

taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem,

that the king and his princes and his wives and

his concubines might drink therein. Then they

brought the golden vessels that were taken out

of the temple of the house of God which was at

Jerusalem. And the king and his princes, his

wives and his concubines drank in them. They

drank wine and praised the gods of gold and of

silver and of brass and of iron and of wood and

of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers

of a man's hand. and wrote over against the candlestick

upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace,

and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the king's countenance was changed, and

his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints

of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote

one against another. The king cried aloud to

bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and

the soothsayers. And the king spake and said

to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read

this writing and show me the interpretation thereof

shall be clothed with scarlet and have a chain

of gold about his neck and shall be the third

ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king's

wise men, but they could not read the writing

nor make known to the king the interpretation

thereof. Then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled,

and his countenance was changed in him, and his

lords were astonished. Now the queen, by reason

of the words of the king and his lords, came

into the banquet house, and the queen spake and

said, O king, live forever. Let not thy thoughts

trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed.

There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the

spirit of the holy gods. And in the days of thy

father, light and understanding and wisdom, like

the wisdom of the gods, was found in him, whom

the king Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the king,

I say thy father, made master. of the magicians,

astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers for as

much as an excellent spirit and knowledge and

understanding, interpreting of dreams and showing

of hard sentences and dissolving of doubts was

found in the same Daniel, whom the king named

Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he

will show the interpretation. Then was Daniel

brought in before the king, and the king spake

and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which

art of the children of the captivity of Judah,

whom the king, my father, brought out of Jewry?

I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of

the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding

and excellent wisdom is found in thee. Now the

wise men, the astrologers, have been brought

in before me that they should read this writing

and make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

But they could not show the interpretation of

the thing. And I have heard of thee that thou

canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts.

Now if thou canst read the writing and make known

to me the interpretation thereof, thou shall

be clothed with scarlet. and have a chain of

gold about thy neck, and shall be the third ruler

in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said

before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself,

and give thy rewards to another. Yet I will read

the writing unto the king, and make known to

him the interpretation. O thou king, the most

high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom.

and majesty and glory and honor. And for the

majesty that he gave him, all people, nations,

and languages trembled and feared before him,

whom he would slew and whom he would be kept

alive and whom he would set up and whom he would

put down. But when his heart was lifted up and

his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from

his kingly throne. and they took his glory from

him. And he was driven from the sons of men,

and his heart was made like the beast and the

asses, and they fed him with grass like oxen.

And his body was wet with the dew of heaven,

till he knew that the Most High God ruled in

the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over

it whomsoever he will. And thou, his son, O Belshazzar,

hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest

all this. but is lifted up thyself against the

Lord of heaven. And they have brought the vessels

of his house before thee. And thou and thy lords

and thy wives and thy concubines have drunk wine

in them, and thou hast praised the gods of gold,

of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and stone,

which see not, nor hear, nor know. that the God

in whom's hand thy breath is and whose are all

thy days, hast thou not glorified? Then was the

part of the hand sent from him. And this writing

was written. And this is the writing that was

written. Mine, mine, tekel yifarsin. And this

is the interpretation of the thing. Mine, God

hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Tekel,

thou art weighed in the balances and art found

wanting. Peres, thy kingdom is divided and given

to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar.

And they clothed Daniel with scarlet and put

a chain of gold about his neck and made a proclamation

concerning him that he should be the third ruler

in the kingdom. And that night was Belshazzar

the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the

Median took the kingdom, being about three score

and two years old. I'm going to preach today,

and I thought of two titles for this sermon.

I thought of the title, Can Men Defy God? The

answer is no. No one can defy God. And then I

thought about a title, God. is in charge? And

the answer is yes. God is in charge. On this

morning, God is in charge. Right now, God is

in charge. At this moment, God is in charge.

Throughout the world, God is in charge. Hallelujah.

And so today I want to share with you right from

the Word of the Lord. If America needs anything

today, we need a revival of the Bible. I said

we need a revival of the Bible. Hallelujah. You

see, there's still power to be found in the Word

of God. The problem today is that we've gotten

away from the principles of the Word, the teachings

of the Word, the instructions of the Word, the

commandments of the Word, the guiding of the

Word, the leading of the Word. We need a revival

of the Bible. Hallelujah. I want to tell you

right now, I want to stand flat -footed and tell

you that I believe the Bible is the Word of God.

I don't believe it just contains the Word of

God. I don't understand all the miracles that

God wrote in bringing it to us, but I do know

this. I believe it is the absolute, unadulterated,

straight out of heaven Word. Word of the living

God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

Well, I want to show you something. I've already

told you about Mama's Bible. It's kind of a big

Bible, great big Bible. You know, the Bible said

that the Word of God is quick and powerful and

sharper than any two -edged sword. If the devil

is afraid of anything, he's afraid of this. It

shakes him. It terrifies him. He almost has a

nervous breakdown when he gets around it. There's

power in the Word of God. Let me tell you something.

I brought a bunch of little different Bibles

with me today. I call this a checkbook Bible

because it looks like a checkbook. You can stick

it right in the coat pocket there, just a checkbook.

I call this one. This little bitty Bible, I call

it my switchblade Bible. I can hide it in my

pocket. Devil don't even know I've got it until

he gets too close and I pull it on him. Back

up, devil. I'll cut you right where you stand.

This is one of dad's old Bibles. My dad had eyes

like an eagle reading. or at a distance. He never

had to wear glasses and lived to be 92 years

old. Daddy bought the tiniest printed Bible.

I need a magnifying glass with my reading glasses

to read it. And Dad's got rotten all over it.

It's old, but I feel good when I touch it. Amen.

Word of the living God. Here's a Bible. That

Tennessee State Council gave me on October the

4th or October the 7th, 2004. It's made out of

real soft leather. It's a beautiful Bible. And

I enjoy carrying this Bible around when I want

people to say that man's got a good looking Bible.

It's a great Bible. Now I'm going to show you

something very special. Very special to my wife.

She takes very good care of this Bible. My father

-in -law was in General George Patton's 3rd Army,

9th Armored Division, World War II. Went all

the way across France into Czechoslovakia, battle

after battle after battle. Before they started

out, they gave each of those soldiers this little

New Testament. On the inside, There is a message

from Franklin Roosevelt, President of the United

States. I'm going to read it to you. It says,

As Commander -in -Chief, I take pleasure in commending

the reading of the Bible to all who serve in

the armed forces of the United States. Throughout

the centuries, men of many faiths and diverse

origins have found in the sacred book words of

wisdom, counsel, and inspiration. It is a fountain

of strength and now, as always, an aid in attaining

the highest aspirations of the human soul. This

little Bible survived bullets and gunpowder and...

Cannon fire and hand grenades and he brought

it back. And my wife has it. There was a time

when America took the Bible very seriously. They

loved it. They appreciated it. They embraced

it. It was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful

thing. And so when God began to speak to me about

this message that he's laid upon my heart and

about... the need for the truth of God's Word

to be resurrected in this day and time, he directed

me to the very fact that we need a re -appreciation

and a revival of the Word of God. Isaiah said

in Isaiah 40 and 8, the grass withers and the

flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand

forever. God told Jeremiah, is not my word like

as a fire in Jeremiah 23 and 29. And he said,

it's like the hammer that breaks the rock into

pieces. David said in Psalms 119, 105, thy word

is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

David said, I will hide thy word in my heart

that I might not sin against God. The apostle

Peter said, said in 2 Peter 1, 21, he said, For

the prophecy came not in old time by the will

of men, but holy men of God spake as they were

moved on by the Holy Ghost. The apostle Paul

said in Romans 10 and 17, he said, So faith cometh

by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Hallelujah.

The Bible said in Revelation 1 and 7 concerning

John the Revelator, he said concerning him, it

said, who bore record of the Word of God. And

Jesus said in Matthew 24 and 25, heaven and earth

shall pass away, but my Word shall not. pass

away. We need a revival of the Bible. I said

we need a revival of the Bible. There's nothing,

nothing that can replace the Word of the living

God. I was in China a number of years ago and

actually went into Red China where we were smuggling

Bibles. And we got in trouble, and we got escorted

out of the country with Chinese communist soldiers

with machine guns held on us who took us to the

border, put us on a train, stayed on the train

until we got to the other border. But I'll never

forget talking to some of those underground Chinese

pastors. what they had underwent. And I talked

to a man who had been in jail for 28 years for

preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And he

said the word of the Lord was precious to him.

And he said, memorize as much of the Bible as

you can. He said, if they ever take the Bible,

away from you. What you've got in your heart,

they can never take away. They can't steal it

away. They can't block it from your mind because

when you need it, the Holy Ghost will bring it

to your remembrance. So memorize the Word of

the living God. I'll never forget a night when

I preached in a theater in Moscow, Russia back

in the 90s right after they had opened it up.

The iron curtain had fell. And I remember after

service, and we had a great service that night.

The place was packed and the altar was full and

God had just moved in a mighty way. And I remember

after the service that night, one of the translators

came up and got me and said, Reverend, he said,

there's an old lady that wants to speak to you

in the back. And so I went back there and there

was an elderly lady and she was clothed in a

heavy but very ragged coat. And she was holding

this rather large Russian Bible. And she told

her story through the translator. She said that

during the days of Stalin, she said her husband

was a Pentecostal preacher in Russia, preaching

in the underground. And she said one night, Stalin's

soldiers. His secret police came to their house,

and she said she had two little children. They

came in the house, and she said in the kitchen,

they held a pistol to her husband's head and

demanded that he give them his Bible, and they

would let him go. He said, I cannot give you

my Bible, for it is the most precious treasure

we have. These are her words. And in front of

her and her two little children, they blowed

his brains out, killed him in the kitchen, all

over the fact that he would not surrender his

Bible. She said, then they turned on me to see

if I would give them the Bible. And she said,

they beat me until I was almost unconscious.

But she said, I never surrendered the Bible.

And then, with tears running down her old wrinkled

face, she reached out and handed me this big

old Russian Bible. And she smiled, and she was

almost toothless. And she said, this is the Bible

they wanted, and this is the Bible they never

got, and I still have it. And she just embraced

it like it was, the most precious thing that

she could ever imagine happening. And I thought

to myself, what has happened to us and our nation,

our country, that the Word of God is not as precious

to us as it should be? You know what I'm praying

for and what I've prayed for in this service?

I pray, God, if nothing else happens in this

service today, I want everybody under the sound

of my voice to get a brand new love for the Word

of God. I want the Word of God to become rich

to you and wonderful to you and beautiful to

you and precious to you. And I want you to have

a revival of reading the Word of God and memorizing

the Word of God and embracing the Word of God

and quoting. the Word of God, there's power to

be found in the Word of the living God. Hallelujah.

And so it is from God's eternal Word that I read

this story to you today, the story of King Belshazzar,

who was the son of Nebuchadnezzar, who had conquered

all of the known world. There's something about

King Belshazzar. He is the portrait of many.

In America today, the first thing I notice about

Belshazzar is this. He felt he was beyond the

reach of God. The concept of God was to him archaic.

We live in a nation where the concept of God

has become archaic to many people. they care

about is their wealth, their comfort, the power

that we have as a nation. And they say that's

all we need. We're protected. We're secure. We're

surrounded. Nothing can hurt us. Nothing can

touch us. And so we really don't need a closeness

with God. God can't touch us. Nebuchadnezzar

saw himself as the king of the mightiest nation

on earth. Behind walls that were so thick that

multiple rows of chariots could drive side by

side. A nation so wealthy and rich that it had

become one of the great wonders of the ancient

world. And so he felt like he was out of the

reach of God. But I'm here to tell you nobody's

out of the reach of God. Nobody on this earth

is out of the reach of God. David even said in

one place, if I were to descend into hell, he

said even there your Holy Spirit would find me.

He said if I were to take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, you'd

find me there. Nobody. is out of the reach of

God. No wall will hide you from God. No door

can close you off from God. No country you can

go to will secure you from God. No one is out

of the reach of God. Not only that, but Belshazzar

felt that he was beyond the eyes of God. He had

this I'll do as I please attitude. He said, pleasure

is my goal. I want to be entertained. I want

the ultimate in entertainment. I want to do as

I please. You know what? That is the stench that's

in America today. We lust for the joys of the

gridiron and the courtyard and the fields. And

to be entertained. And we go after more entertainment

to replace the entertainment we're already bored

with. We say, leave me alone. I want to live

in anonymity. People think no one will see what

they're doing behind their closed doors. They

lock themselves in seclusion and they freeze

behind their screens. and they think no one will

see them, certainly not the eyes of a just and

holy God. God can't see me here. I'm hidden.

But you know what the Bible said? The Bible said

the eyes of the Lord run to and fro in the earth,

beholding the good and the evil. You know something?

There's a lot of people in America would hate

my guts for what I'm preaching right now. But

I feel a call from God to preach this. I feel

the spirit of warning upon me. I feel the spirit

of the prophet upon me. I feel the spirit of

urgency upon me. I feel the spirit of the broken

heart upon me, the spirit of trembling upon me.

Oh, God, help us to see that you see us. We're

not hid from you. We're not cloaked from you.

We're not invisible creatures that you cannot

see. God, you see us. Belshazzar thought that

he could not be seen by a just and a holy God.

Belshazzar felt like he was beyond the judgment

of God. So the Bible said he took the holy vessels.

Now let me tell you something about these vessels

that Belshazzar and his... and his wives and

his concubines and all of his partners and pleasure

drank wine out of and praised idol gods in their

drunken stupor. Let me tell you something about

these vessels. They were made of gold and silver.

They were taken from the temple of God which

was in Jerusalem. Let me tell you about these

vessels. When Solomon dedicated the temple, Solomon

had appointed 38 ,000 Levites to be involved

in the building of that temple. The Bible tells

us that there were 24 ,000 of them, or 36 ,000,

not 38, but 36 ,000. There were 24 ,000 that

were involved in the construction. They were

laborers. large group of 6 ,000 that were officers

and judges. There were two more groups. One was

made up of security people, and then there was

a group of 4 ,000 that while the temple was being

built, 4 ,000 Levites did nothing but praise

the Lord. The Bible said they praised the Lord

at the dawning of the sun. And they would praise

the Lord throughout the day until the sun began

to set in the west. And that was a temple built

on praise. It was a temple built on holiness

for the Levites were considered holy under the

Lord. And when they got ready to dedicate the

temple and those vessels were in that temple

at the dedication, the Bible said the Shekinah

glory. It was so thick that the priest couldn't

even go inside. Now, folks, listen to me. What

if all of us lined up to come in this morning?

We couldn't get in here. Woo! Man, I don't know

where that come from. We couldn't get in here

because the glory of the Lord was so thick in

this place. That we couldn't even walk in and

I had to look over and say, Cliff, I'll go in

as soon as the glory lets up a little bit. It's

too thick for me and you to go in there right

now. What if the glory was that thick? My God,

that's how thick it was that day. They dedicated

the temple of God in Jerusalem. So thick. The

priest couldn't even go in. Oh, hallelujah, hallelujah,

hallelujah. And that's the vessels that were

in that temple that day. And now you've got this

carnal, full of the devil, got a devil in him

big as a rhinoceros, and he's drinking wine.

and praising idol gods out of those same vessels.

The Bible said praising gods of gold and silver,

iron and stone, which have no voice, neither

can hear. Man, just soon take him a good case

knife and go out here and... chop him a branch

off a tree and carve him out a little god. Did

you know Isaiah said that one time? Isaiah the

prophet said that. He said the fool goes out

here and cuts himself a branch off and whittles

him out a god. Worships his little whittled god.

I can strike a match and burn his little old

god up. Here's old Belshazzar. worshiping gods

that have no voice, can't do anything. And he's

praising them. He's not just worshiping them.

He's praising them and laughing. But you know

what? I love the Bible. Oh, wow, I love the Bible.

Man, I'm enjoying preaching this morning. I'm

feeling good all over. The Bible. said while

he done it in the same hour there stretched forth

fingers of a man's hand and wrote over in the

plaster on the wall of the king's palace and

the Bible said the king saw the part of the hand

that wrote. And then the Bible said then were

the joints of his loins loose. What happened

brother Griffiths? God jerked his hip bones out

of place. The Bible said his knees got to knocking

against each other. He was terrified. We ought

to be terrified of a living God. That's right.

I'm telling you, God is real. God's alive. He

wants us to serve him. He wants us to love him.

He wants to love us. He wants to bless us. He

wants us to be lifted up. But I'm telling you,

there's coming a day when the terror of the Lord

is going to fill this universe. Old Nebuchadnezzar,

or Belshazzar, I could preach a sermon on his

daddy too, but I'm going to stay on the boy right

now. Nebuchadnezzar, or Belshazzar. The Bible

said he called for the wise men, the astrologers,

the soothsayers, the Chaldeans, everybody that

he thought was intelligent to come and try to

interpret what was written upon the wall. The

Bible said they all came in and none of them

could interpret it. The Bible said the queen

came in and actually in the Hebrew it's indication

it's not the queen he was married to but rather

it was the queen mother. who came in, the old

lady. And she said, in the days of your father,

there was a holiness preacher. I love holiness

preachers. God spoke to him. He understood dreams

and visions, and he gave. clarity to doubt. And

I think he's still living. And if you can find

him, I guarantee you he can tell you what's up

on that wall. Hallelujah. You know something?

The world may not like those of us that have

this old time religion, but I'm telling you right

now, they need us. I said they need us. Hallelujah.

The Scripture said they went and found Daniel.

You know what I like to think? Now, this is just

me. This isn't written in the Bible. This is

just me, but this is my sermon, and I'm preaching

it. I think Daniel came in and immediately recognized

his father's handwriting. That's what I think.

And Daniel preaches Nebuchadnezzar's sermon.

He tells him about his father. Your father once

thought he was some big something. And God turned

him out in the field like a wild beast. And he

ate grass and the dew of heaven rested on his

back until he acknowledged the God of heaven.

And you knew that, Belshazzar. You knew. what

was right and what was wrong, but you still did

what you've done. He said, now God's got a message,

a message for you. You see, God wrote out the

judgment of Belshazzar. The Bible tells us that

if we, hallelujah, if we love God, if we're close

to God, If we listen to God, we'll know what

God is saying. He knew what God was saying. And

so he read it. The words the Bible gives us,

The meaning is this. God has numbered your kingdom

and finished it. In our plain language, we would

say, Belshazzar, to tell you're weighed in the

balances and found wanting, you don't measure

up. God's put you on the scales. You don't measure

up. You're weighed, weighed, weighed. God owns

the scales. God determines the balances. God

knows what's right and wrong, and you don't measure

up. Do you know one of the great problems in

America today is that many Americans have created

their own standard of what's right and wrong

instead of what the Bible says is right and wrong.

And they measure themselves by their own measuring

stick. God is the one that determines right and

wrong. And then Daniel said, your kingdom is

divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Everything you thought you had is going to be

taken away from you. What was Belshazzar's end?

According to the historians, that night, The

river that ran underneath the wall that surrounded

Babylon that Belshazzar felt so secure behind,

that river was diverted. And on dry ground, the

armies of Medea and Persia sent their massive

armies into the city of Babylon. I doubt if Belshazzar

knew anything. Until a Median spirit plunged

in his belly and he breathed his last breath.

Lost in the judgment of God. But what about Daniel?

And I conclude by telling you God is going to

have a people. God had Daniel. God will always

have a people. God's got us. God's got people

around this world. God will have his people.

God will speak through his people. God spoke

through Daniel. God will speak through us. Oh,

hallelujah. God will take care of his people.

God took care of Daniel. In fact, the next king

that came in found such great, great pleasure

in Daniel that he made him one of the leaders

and the rulers of the kingdom. And when evil

men and seducers that wax worse and worse would

find fault and lay a trap for Daniel, and Daniel

would find himself in a lion's den, God would

send his angel down into the den and lock the

lion's jaws, and Daniel was always taken care

of. One thing I want to say to you in concluding

this message, and it's very, very important,

and it's this. When you come down to the end

of the life of the prophet Daniel, you get to

Daniel chapter 12. And God spoke to me early

Daniel 12 · chapter mention

this morning about these verses. I had not even

included them in the sermon. And God spoke to

me because God wanted me to speak to you. In

Daniel chapter 12, Daniel is having this conversation

Daniel 12 · chapter mention

with God about the end time. And God tells Daniel

to go his way. And then God uses a most unusual

phrase in a conversation with Daniel. God says,

go your way. And then God says, until the time

of the end. But he's not talking about Daniel's

end. The language does not express that he's

talking about Daniel's end. He's talking about

the end of time as we know it. The end of humanity.

And he says two things that are, and it's two

of the greatest signs of the end time in the

Bible you seldom ever hear him preached about.

We preach about Matthew chapter 24, Luke 21,

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

Mark 13, 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15,

the book of Revelation, the book of Jude. Isaiah,

all the chapters in the 60s, and the latter part

of the book of Zechariah, there's prophetical

chapters throughout the Bible that are so powerful.

And yet, here's two phrases that God gives Daniel

about the time of the end that are so crystal

clear about the time that you and I are living

in right now. He said, at the time of the end,

many... Would run to and fro. I looked up the

Hebrew words that the English language interprets

here. Many shall run to and fro. The word many

means literally abundant numbers like millions

and millions and millions. In Daniel's time,

there were not that many people alive on the

earth. And when you got outside the Middle East,

when you got outside of... the Middle Eastern

nations, you got into the tribal sections of

humanity, and there's some that do not even believe

there was anybody in North America at that time,

and the earth was sparsely populated. But today,

there's billions of people, over 8 billion people

on this planet. And he said, many. In fact, it

indicates an almost innumerable host of people,

and he said they would run to and fro, which

seems to indicate unlimited travel and the unlimited

ability to communicate at the time of the end.

And then he said, to back this up, the very next

phrase, knowledge shall increase. Let me tell

you something. From the time of Christ until

the year 1900, it is said the accumulated knowledge

of mankind doubled one time in 1900 years. And

then from 1900 until shortly after World War

I, it would double again. What took 1900 years

would happen in just a little over 20 years.

Then it would double again before World War II.

Then it began to increase. And when you read

about it, when you do the research on it, every

ten years, every five years, now they say that

knowledge is doubling as rapidly in some cases

as every year and a half. Nanotechnology that

we cannot even begin to fathom. I read about

it and I say, David, what? Did you just read?

David responds and says, I have no idea. I mean,

we're living in a world that is just rapidly,

rapidly changing. God told an old Hebrew prophet

in a captive land many years ago that at the

time of the end, many would run to and fro and

knowledge would increase. I'm not one of these

guys that tries to find Scripture verses to match

everything. I'm just one of those guys that reads

the Bible and believes it. I believe it's a true,

true book from God. I believe God's Word's true.

I believe it's everlasting. It'll stand when

everything else falls and is crushed. Hallelujah.

Folks, I feel good in my soul today. I know God

can see me. I can't run from God. I know that

I can't hide from God. I know I'm not beyond

the reach of God. I know God loves me and God

cares about me. And I know God's Word is absolutely

true, absolutely real. Mama, this old book you

started reading years and years and years ago

is true. Absolutely true. And it'll last forever.

Ever and ever and ever and ever. If you love

the Lord, I want you to stand to your feet all

over this building. If you love the Lord, I want

you to stand to your feet right now. I want you

to lift your hands toward heaven and begin to

praise him right now. I want you to praise him

all over this building. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.